This invention relates generally to an electrical contact and, more particularly, to a right-angle contact which embodies terminal posts that extend transversely of the axis of the contact body.
It is conventional practice in the connector industry to manufacture electrical contacts having cylindrical bodies by machining, although cold heading processes have recently been adopted for forming the contacts in order to reduce manufacturing costs and losses due to scrap material inherent in machining processes. In order to form a right-angle contact having a cylindrical body, it has been the practice to drill transverse holes in the body of the contact and press fit either circular or rectangular cross-section posts into the holes. The machining of the holes and press fitting of the posts therein adds considerably to the manufacturing costs of the contact. Furthermore, the junction formed between the posts and the contact body creates an undesired voltage drop between the contacting portion of the contact body and the posts.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,239,792; 3,409,862; and 3,618,207 disclose flat contacts having terminal posts which are formed by stamping or milling operations. Such operations are readily performed on flat sheet stock, but are extremely difficult to perform on solid stock, such as required for producing contacts having cylindrical bodies. It is also known in the art to form a plurality of rectangular cross-section terminal posts on a cylindrical bar stock, which posts extend parallel to the center axis of the bar, by performing a series of milling cuts at right angles to each other. This method is extremely expensive, and does not produce a right-angle contact.
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a one-piece unitary right-angle electrical contact having a cylindrical body at an expense substantially less than that of the prior art methods discussed above.